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does anyone in the World know about the World Cup?

The World Cup starts in Toronto shortly. 13 nations out of the 38 currently skating Roller Derby not only committed to it, but have raised funds, sacrificed and will be on hand.

Congratulations to Toronto and Blood and Thunder for putting the tournament together and making it happen.

I have seen articles from the UK and elsewhere about the growth of Derby and the teams going to the tourney……I haven’t seen any in the US.

With the increasing growth and popularity of the game, why isn’t there a voice to let the US know what is going on and the impact of Roller Derby on the world; not just the game, but what it means to the participants.

With all the cable sports and news outlets, how can this remain such a secret in the country of birth and rebirth and with well over 600 leagues in virtually every state?

If skaters from countries that didn’t even have a league at the start of last year are coming to Toronto, why is it such a secret?

Of course our internal media: DNN, Derby Deeds, etc have kept us up to date, buy why not ESPN, Comcast, Fox Sports, USA Today and all the networks? And what media will be covering it.

If teams struggled to make the journey from Brazil, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, along with the USA and Canada; isn’t there some way we can shout it to the World?

Very simple … because 400-20 blowouts (give or take several dozen points here and there), power jam after power jam featuring scores being run up by speed skaters doing laps around stand-still packs, more officials than skaters, confusing rules, slow or no starts, and actual pack work / blocking being the exception do nothing for the ESPNs, Vs, Fox, USA Today etc etc etc…

Play a style of game more akin to how it was done for the first 75 years – without the theatrics and scripts – that involved defense, packwork, real blocking, and a simple, easy-to-understand rule set and the aforementioned will become interested.

And yes, I know this because I speak with those folks at the major media outlets. Derby is not unknown to them – and THAT is the problem!

Give them competitive games on a REGULAR basis, give them a game that the MASSES can understand, give them SKATING like some of the lesser known derby organizations do and they will be interested. Until then, god bless the DNNs and Derby Deeds because that’s as far as it’s getting untlil the meek inherent the Earth 🙂

My impression from these comments is that people feel derby is to blame for the mainstream sports media not picking it up. These points may have some validity but there are plenty of sports on tv whose rules go straight over my head. I got my head around basic derby rules after attending just one bout and my knowledge steadily increased.
I don’t think viewers necessarily want to see ‘missionary style’ derby and I don’t think they are averse to occassionally wondering what is going on as long as there is helpful commentary to sort it out.
I feel it’s a bit of a cop out to say “well, we the media would love to cover you but the audience just won’t like it”; smart coverage would package the sport in a way that viewers are able to digest.

My thoughts are the same as yours and Just A Guy, but it is also an issue with our Names. If we could only encourage players (ladies and Gents alike) to choose names that are less controversial that would be awesome.

Most sports teams don’t change their names to things they can’t (or shouldn’t) say to their grannies.

World Cup Roller Derby is going to be amazing, and I am making the trip there on Thursday! I am super excited. Jerry, Will I finally have the chance to sit and chat with you in person…. You are coming, right?

This has to be an organic and immediate process. Everyone who wants to get involved, we have just a few days as I write this….please go to Roller Derby PR on facebook, or have your PR person do it, and immediately send out a press release to your local area.

I respectfully disagree it has anything to do with rulesets or play. Seriously, try to watch American football with someone who doesn’t know the game. It’s maddening. My wife who plays derby just can not grasp football and its not from a lack of trying. She wasn’t raised around it and to be honest modern broadcasting assumes a beyond basic level of knowledge in the game.

IMHO, it has more to do with money. Because in the biggest general sense, derby hasn’t attracted big money. When you have “Budweiser presents the Derby Bowl,” you’ll have TV coverage. Not only do the media outlets have a built in ad revenue with the mega-sponsor but its easier to sell advertising to others who want to ride on the coat tails. Problem is it seems the DIY ethic prevalent in modern derby wants things on their terms not the sponsors. Which is cool but its just not big business at this point.

I also cringe when I read “Blood and Thunder presents the World Cup of Derby” not because of the players participating but because of the insular overall feel of the event. Much the same I would feel if I saw “Curling International presents the Curling International Invitational.” Even if completely untrue, it looks as though few outside of our world care about our sport.

WFTDA would be the best poised at this point to make such a move but I feel most likely to do so they would have to focus on the top 5 of each of the regions that exist today which would leave out a HUGE portion of their leagues which would be a tough sell to the leagues in those “lesser” positions.

And that’s also assuming a female dominated sport hasn’t met the glass ceiling…